DaimlerChrysler: Japan Market Is Open

Published 8:00 pm, Monday, June 16, 2003

The head of Japanese operations at German automaker DaimlerChrysler AG said Tuesday that obstacles to selling foreign cars in Japan are more about people's habits than about trade barriers.

"The Japanese market is as open as it could be. What we are struggling with is what I'd call consumer habits," said Hans Tempel, president and chief executive of DaimlerChrysler Japan Holding.

In Japan, minivans account for as much as 30 percent of sales, in contrast to about 10 percent in the U.S. and European markets, making it difficult for European automakers to sell other types of vehicles in Japan, Tempel said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo.

Another obstacle is that emissions and other regulations on diesel engines in Japan differ from those in Europe, where most cars run on diesel fuel.

Diesels make up a tiny fraction of car sales in Japan, and imports account for just 6 percent of cars sold here.

Tempel said DaimlerChrysler is working with the Japanese government to develop regulations for new types of technology to try to get standards that are more similar to those in Europe.

DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes Benz is the second-best-selling foreign make in Japan, accounting for 17.49 percent of Japan's small import market in fiscal 2002 with 48,854 vehicles, according to the Japanese Automobile Importers Association. The German automaker also sold 6,700 Chrysler vehicles, giving it together about 20 percent of the market.

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